I know the little incidents of life appear to be nothing to people who are in the midst of managing the unthinkable and the devastating stuff of life. The thing is . . . all facets of life teach us . . . if we are open to the lesson to be learned. Taking time to study the big or small, consequential or inconsequential, the rip-your-heart-apart or the moments-that-produce-a sarcastic-word-or-two will produce more thought and understanding to who God is and what He will do with our life.
One of those small, inconsequential, moments that produced at least two sarcastic words occurred a few years ago. A new semester in seminary had begun. The one day that no one is late to classes is the first day of a new semester. At least for that one day, students respect the professor's time. I left earlier than usual, not knowing I should have left hours before. I take being on time seriously. We were fairly new to our small community, McMinnville, situated in the heart of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I did not know that the main road leading out of town would come to a stop for hours if anything happened. Ice happened. Everything stopped. So. I followed others onto side roads. For you to know, I am directionally challenged, which means I don't always know where I am going.
Time moved faster than I did. By the time I had found my way to school, I was an hour late to my three-hour class. The parking lot was full since everyone shows up the first day. I parked a few blocks away, grabbed my stuff, and ran, slipping and sliding until I reached the door, Disheveled, but present, I found the class. The professor was, of course, in the middle of his lecture. My entrance was big . . . I tripped . . . my lunch came out of its sack launching my apple into the air . . . my books slammed to the floor . . . and my laptop hung precariously from my bag. The professor who had a dry sense of humor, kept on with his lecture as the students, all men, picked up my stuff . . . provided a place for me to sit . ... and plugged in my laptop. Then. The professor looked straight at me and said, "Are you ready?" Bedlam. Laughter. Sarcasm. Fun.
Join me. Take a break from the serious stuff today. Look at life with fresh eyes. Take yourself less seriously. Develop a healthy sense of humor. Laugh at least once today. And, have some fun.
Learning to Kickstart the day taking laughter breaks along the way,
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)
One of those small, inconsequential, moments that produced at least two sarcastic words occurred a few years ago. A new semester in seminary had begun. The one day that no one is late to classes is the first day of a new semester. At least for that one day, students respect the professor's time. I left earlier than usual, not knowing I should have left hours before. I take being on time seriously. We were fairly new to our small community, McMinnville, situated in the heart of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I did not know that the main road leading out of town would come to a stop for hours if anything happened. Ice happened. Everything stopped. So. I followed others onto side roads. For you to know, I am directionally challenged, which means I don't always know where I am going.
Time moved faster than I did. By the time I had found my way to school, I was an hour late to my three-hour class. The parking lot was full since everyone shows up the first day. I parked a few blocks away, grabbed my stuff, and ran, slipping and sliding until I reached the door, Disheveled, but present, I found the class. The professor was, of course, in the middle of his lecture. My entrance was big . . . I tripped . . . my lunch came out of its sack launching my apple into the air . . . my books slammed to the floor . . . and my laptop hung precariously from my bag. The professor who had a dry sense of humor, kept on with his lecture as the students, all men, picked up my stuff . . . provided a place for me to sit . ... and plugged in my laptop. Then. The professor looked straight at me and said, "Are you ready?" Bedlam. Laughter. Sarcasm. Fun.
The lesson? I need to take another look at my life with fresh eyes. I need to take myself less seriously . . . lighten up . . . laugh . . . and have fun along the way.Consider the letter to the Philippians written by the Apostle Paul. He talked about the joy of living in Christ, reminding the early church to have joy. In it, he said:
"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4, NLT).Joy is essential to experiencing life to the fullest. It means we must take our eyes off ourself and focus on Christ.
It means we are grateful for the life we have. It means we trust God more than our circumstances. And, it means that we enjoy the ride of life.Are you ready for more? Have you taken life so seriously that you have forgotten what it means to enjoy and even have fun on the journey? Christ came to free us from living a self-absorbed-pressurized-problem-focused life. I am the first to say that there are more serious problems than ever in this world. Even so. We need to take a break along the way and enjoy the life we have received. I like what Elton Trueblood said, "Never trust a theologian who doesn't have a sense of humor."
Join me. Take a break from the serious stuff today. Look at life with fresh eyes. Take yourself less seriously. Develop a healthy sense of humor. Laugh at least once today. And, have some fun.
Learning to Kickstart the day taking laughter breaks along the way,
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)